Island Federal Credit Union names new CEO

Island Federal Credit Union said it has appointed Bret Sears as its first new president and chief executive in 34 years.

Sears took the helm of the Hauppauge-based credit union on Dec. 1, the credit union said, taking over for Robert J. Dethlefsen, who retired from the position in late November after 34 years of tenure.

Island has 25,777 members and $778 million in assets. It employs about 80 people and has five branches across Long Island.

Sears said he is planning on "building on what we've got." The credit union's goal is to become a "common household name on Long Island." He said his biggest obstacle is finding locations for new branches that are "just the right size," zoned correctly and able to accommodate drive-thru banking.

Public anger at big banks, manifested in "Bank Transfer Day," a grassroots effort encouraging consumers to move their accounts out of big banks and into credit unions and small banks, seems to have led to an unusual rise in deposits for the credit union, which has seen "about a 20 percent increase since the beginning of the year," said Sears. The news that Bank of America would start charging ATM fees also caused people to seek credit unions, said Sears.

Members are borrowing more than they used to, but differently -- fewer are consumers borrowing for car loans and such, and more are borrowing for refinancing their houses, said Sears. Island's biggest lending category is mortgages, and it lends commercially for member-owned "small mom-and-pop" businesses.

Sears first joined Island as vice president and chief financial officer in 2004. Before that he was senior vice president and chief financial officer at Adirondack Bank in Utica. He is a certified public accountant and a graduate of Le Moyne College in Syracuse. He and his family live in Suffolk County.